Rattlecan Clear Coat Method

[pryde]

Just curious about how those of you who use rattlecan clear apply and finish it over waterslide decals

I have used rustolium and krylon acrylic enamels with "fair" results but would like to perfect it a little more to get a flat-smooth finish. Basically I still end up with a orange-peel type surface.

I use inkjet waterslides, dry overnight,
spray 2-3 coats of clear to seal ink,
apply decal to enclosure, dry overnight
spray 3-4 coats of clear
Done

Do you guys build up a good amount and then wet sand/polish? Other ideas or methods?

Thanks

[madbean]

I've only done laser printed decals in the past, but I generally go about it slightly different.

I go straight from removing the water slide to the enclosure. I very gently (and I mean GENTLE) rub off the excess water and air bubbles with my thumb until I'm sure the decal has good adhesion. Let that dry for maybe 30 minutes or an hour.

From there, 6 - 7 coats of clear. Usually I wait about an hour between (do it on a sunny day with the enclosure under sunlight). By the time I get to the second or third coat, I gently rub the enclosure down with a cotton shirt. This smooths out the finish for the next layer.

By the time you get to coat 6 or 7, the decal edges disappear and you have a thick high gloss finish.

[Bret608]

This is a really helpful thread as I've used the ol' rattlecan but haven't yet tried it with decals.

Brian, when you rub down the enclosure after the second or third coat, will it still feel kind of sticky? Just hoping not to freak myself out if I try this! 

[pryde]

Thanks Brian,

I have to clear coat the decal before putting it on the enclosure otherwise the ink bleeds when I put it in water. Maybe its an inkjet thing? However, by doing this the decal becomes very strong so I don't have to worry about ripping/tearing it when installing.

Curious about the cotton rag method as well. Do you do this when it is tacky? How do you not get lint. etc in the clear?

[timbo_93631]

To get smooth results I sand the enclosure face till it is really flat using 220 Norton 3x sandpaper on a sanding block, then I shoot the two coats of base color or clear if I am doing a brushed aluminum look.  I bake the enclosure in the toaster oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes aboulf half an hour after I paint the enclosure.  Then I make the inkjet decal and let it dry for 3 hours after printing before I put 2 or 3 coats of clear and let it air dry for 24 hours.  You can do things alot quicker here if you are blessed with a laser printer.  Then I apply the decal and as MB mentioned above, and I let it sit for another 24 hours before shooting 3-5 more thin coats of clear baking the enclosure for 10 minutes between coats.  That usually gets it smooth.  Important to shake the can dilligently and spray thin coats.  If I get imperfections in the clear I just sand them out with 600 grit on the sanding block using a very very light touch.  Imagine touching the the cheek of Penelope Cruz, like that light of touch...  This could be called the "patience" method but it works well for me.  You might look into the envirotex method of epoxy coating if you keep having trouble with rattle cans, I have not tried it persionally, but there have been some absolutely stellar pedals on here that were done that way.  I think Jamiroking does it that way...

[pryde]

Have not tried the toaster oven approach.

The issue with doing light coats of clear is that they have a fine grainy "velvety" texture then after several coats it kind of turns more into a mild orange peel texture.

Next build I might try to build up to a very thick coat and then wet sand 1000-2000 and final polish with scratch-x and see how it turns out.

[timbo_93631]

That would be too light of coats then.  The best place to be is not so heavy you get runs, but not so light the paint dries before you have enough on there.  I paint my enclosures in my garage with the door up and out of direct sunlight.  I put the main part and the bottom cover of my enclosures on the top step of a 4 foot ladder with a little plastic baby food container under them as a pedestal.  This is a nice height for me to see what is going on really clearly.  Then I shoot all 4 sides of the box, and the 4 edges of the lid and then shoot the tops in 2 passes that overlap in the middle of the face going long ways.  It is important to start spraying to the side of the enclosure and then move across it letting off when you are past the end of the box, not to spray directly on it and then start moving.  Watch how this guy is spraying these guitars, consistently keeping the tip the same distance from the work and fairly consistent overlap.  It is the same basic technique with a rattle can.  

[rlopes]

Nice video. Thanks for sharing it.

[slimtriggers]

I did the Paint Your Own Guitar method on one of my guitars using rattle cans.  The same principles should apply to pedals.  The thing with that method is that you build up enough clear that you can then wet sand down the orange peel with progressively higher grits of sand paper.  Then you finish it off with a polishing compound.

Doing it that way is a lot of work, and very time consuming, though.

[TNblueshawk]

I gave up on lacquer and went to Envirotex epoxy, but back when I did lacquer, I did many coats, 5-7 buy I did not worry about the orange peel until my final coat. So I jsut build up layers and layers and then on the last coat you have to go thick enough to get a glass look. The issue I always had was I would get the runs  when going heavy. Sometimes it would work and other times not so much. I just never had the confidence on the sides.

Wet sanding like a guitar would work for nitro lacquer. I am not familiar with the kinds of rattle lacquer we typically use for pedals. But, if that is a route you want to take it will indeed be much more time consuming. I am familiar with a bunch of guys who just a Rustoleum lacquer can and have it coming out looking great. I guess they just have a knack, unlike myself. Dunno. But I do know they never sand theirs.